Attorney Edwin Colon, Center for Children’s Advocacy, will join IICONN, CLS, CBA and CT-AILA to provide training to Connecticut attorneys familiar with Probate Court Practice on how to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Findings in Probate Court.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Pro Bono Project
Of the CBA Immigration Law Committee, the International Institute of Connecticut (IICONN),
Connecticut Legal Services, and the Connecticut Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA)
Last summer the news was full of reports of the flood of unaccompanied minor children entering the US to flee violence and deprivation in Central America. The good news is that many of them have been temporarily placed with relatives here in Connecticut. The bad news is that their legal status is uncertain and they are at risk of being forced to return to the chaos and danger they fled. Fortunately, there is a legal remedy that provides a path to permanent US residency for many of these children. The process involves having the child’s relative petition the Probate Court for guardianship with a specific set of findings (see text of statue below) which is then used to acquire the requisite status in Federal Immigrant court.
We are seeking Connecticut attorneys who are familiar with Probate Practice to represent the children in the Probate portion of the case on a pro bono basis. Attorneys familiar with immigration practice will be available to take over the representation to obtain the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for the child. Agreeing to represent the child through the entire case is a large undertaking. Attorneys who have never done immigration work may be hesitant to take on a pro bono case involving the procedures of this complex agency. Likewise, attorneys who specialize in immigration may have no experience at all in state guardianship proceedings. Our idea is to divide the work between attorneys handling the state and immigration portions of the case in order to maximize the availability of representation for the children.
We will be scheduling a training for attorneys willing to volunteer to represent families in the Probate portion of these cases. The training will assume a basic level of understanding and experience in Probate practice, and will focus on how to obtain the necessary findings from the Court and the practical aspects of the project.
IICONN will identify and screen clients, explain the process and obtain clients’ consent to the dual representation, and make referrals to volunteers.
TRAINING FOR VOLUNTEER ATTORNEYS WILL BE
June 23, 2015 1PM
Location: Pullman & Comley, LLC
850 Main Street, 8th Flr
Bridgeport, CT 06601-7006
ATTORNEYS WILLING TO VOLUNTEER TO REPRESENT FAMILIES IN PROBATE PROCEEDINGS AS DESCRIBED SHOULD EMAIL THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION TO Milagros Immigration Law, LLC (Attorney Milagros S. Cruz) at [log in to unmask] and may call at 860-760-0422. In subject line state: PRO BONO SIJ TRAINING. In the body of the email please tell us the number of years of Probate Practice and the Probate Districts for which you are willing to accept referrals.
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Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2014) (a) For the purposes of this section and section 9 of this act, a minor child shall be considered dependent upon the court if the court has (1) removed a parent or other person as guardian of the minor child, (2) appointed a guardian or coguardian for the minor child, (3) terminated the parental rights of a parent of the minor child, or (4) approved the adoption of the minor child.
(b) At any time during the pendency of a petition to remove a parent or other person as guardian under section 45a-609 or 45a-610 of the general statutes, or to appoint a guardian or coguardian under section 45a-616 of the general statutes, a party may file a petition requesting the Probate Court to make findings under this section to be used in connection with a petition to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for designation of the minor child as having special immigrant juvenile status under 8 USC 1101(a)(27)(J). The Probate Court shall cause notice of the hearing on the petition to be given by first class mail to each person listed in subsection (b) of section 45a-609 of the general statutes, and such hearing may be held at the same time as the hearing on the underlying petition for removal or appointment. If the court grants the petition to remove the parent or other person as guardian or appoint a guardian or coguardian, the court shall make written findings on the following: (1) The age of the minor child; (2) the marital status of the minor child; (3) whether the minor child is dependent upon the court; (4) whether reunification of the minor child with one or both of the minor child's parents is not viable due to any of the grounds sets forth in subdivisions (2) to (5), inclusive, of section 45a-610 of the general statutes; and (5) whether it is not in the best interests of the minor child to be returned to the minor child's or parent's country of nationality or last habitual residence.
(c) If the court has previously granted a petition to remove a parent or other person as guardian under section 45a-609 or 45a-610 of the general statutes or to appoint a guardian or coguardian under section 45a-616 of the general statutes, a parent, guardian or attorney for the minor child may file a petition requesting that the court make findings under this section to be used in connection with a petition to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for designation of the minor child as having special immigrant juvenile under 8 USC 1101(a)(27)(J). The court shall cause notice of the hearing on the petition to be given by first class mail to each parent, guardian and attorney for the minor child, to the minor child if the minor child is twelve years of age or older and to other persons as the court determines. The court shall make written findings on the petition in accordance with subsection (b) of this section.
A similar provision applies to termination of parental rights cases.